Problems paying your Council Tax?

If you have problems paying your Council Tax, or you think you might be about to have problems, please contact us immediately as you may be able to rearrange the way you pay.

Please don’t let any problems grow. The longer you leave it and allow any debt to build up, the harder it will be to make an acceptable arrangement to clear the debt. Keeping in touch with us when you are experiencing difficulties will help prevent action being taken against you.

Make a payment arrangement

Contact us and we will try to reach an agreement to clear your Council Tax debts at a rate you can afford. If you have received a summons you can still make an agreement, but you will still have to pay the court costs and we will still get a Liability Order from the Magistrates Court.

Please make a list of your income and outgoings using this form, so you can work out how much you can afford to repay each week or month. If you need a paper copy please ask.

If you don't pay

Here is what happens if you don’t pay or come to an arrangement with us:

We send you an initial reminder to be paid within seven days. If you don’t pay, then

We ask the Magistrate Court to issue a summons to you for a hearing over the unpaid money, which adds £65.60 costs to your account. If you still don’t pay then

We ask the Magistrates Court to grant us the power to recover the unpaid money from you. If the court decides to grant us this power and you still don’t pay then

We collect the unpaid money from you using a range of methods including attachment of earnings or benefits, enforcement action, and bankruptcy proceedings. You will be liable for any further costs incurred as a result of these methods. Please note if we forward your account to a enforcement agent, the enforcement agent becomes responsible for recovering the debt and we will not usually intervene any further.